Ontario Concludes 2025 Wildfire Season With 1.5 Million Acres Burned

On Monday, Ontario announced that its 2025 wildfire season has officially ended after crews responded to 643 fires between April and October, burning 597,654 hectares (1.48 million acres). The season began early and active, but coordinated efforts by fire staff, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and support teams helped protect people and property across the province.

With other provinces facing severe fire activity, Ontario deployed more than 400 personnel and six aircraft to assist firefighting operations in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Minnesota.

Looking ahead to 2026, the province is expanding its fire response capacity with 68 new permanent firefighting and support positions and investing more than CA$500 million to purchase six new De Havilland DHC-515 waterbombers, expected to arrive in the early 2030s.

“Each season brings lessons that help us strengthen our response and preparedness,” said Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response. “I’m especially proud of how everyone came together to protect Ontario and help our neighbors across the country during this year’s wildland fires.”

Ontario continues to invest in long-term resilience, including the 100 permanent positions filled in 2024 and 2025 and CA$64 million in joint federal-provincial funding for upgraded equipment, training, and modern fire suppression tools.

The 2026 fire season will begin on April 1.